From 5:30 - 6:30 pm the museum’s galleries will be open late and museum staff will be on hand to give informal tours of the exhibitions on view including Her Crowd, Science in Motion, Electricity, and Flora and Fauna Drawings. Light refreshments and Two Roads beer will be served. This will be followed by a screening of Women, Art, Revolution!—a film about the Feminist art movement of the 1970s and 80s.

The event is free and open to the general public, ages 21-45.

Monday Morning Lecture Series: Feminism and Art

In this lecture series, arts professionals will speak about the intersections between art and feminism, providing visitors with a broader understanding of the history and current state of women in the art world.

This series is free and open to the public. No advanced registration is required.

There is not one feminism, but many feminisms.This talk will look at some of the myths that describe the ways in which feminist art is perceived and is changing. Dr. Swartz will consider why feminist art and feminist art history are important for society and for individuals and ask if the changing political climate is challenging power structures in society or confirming them. Anne Swartz is Professor of Art History at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia. She holds degrees in art history from the University of the South (BA), Vanderbilt University (MA), and Case Western Reserve University (PhD). Her awards and fellowships include a Fulbright Fellowship to Tokyo, Japan in 2002-03 and two Presidential Fellowships for Faculty Development from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2002 and 2013. She served as Honors Awards Chair of the National Board of the Women’s Caucus for Art (2005-12) and, in addition to helping found The Feminist Art Project, she served as Coordinator of The Feminist Art Project’s distinguished annual day of panels (2005-12). She currently serves on the National Advisory Council for the Center for Women in the Arts and Humanities, Rutgers University (2009-present).

October 24, 10:00 -11:00 am. Dr. Siona Wilson“Sex Talk”
This lecture will explore the ways in which feminist artists have engaged with debates about the politics of sex over the last 35 years. How do these bold, exuberant and sometimes controversial works of art offer a feminist history of sexuality for the late twentieth and twenty-first century? Some of the themes explored in the talk will include the feminist critique of the “sexual revolution” and the commodification of the female body; the reclamation, rethinking and re-presentation of women’s eroticized experience; the taboo of the older women’s sexuality and questions of health; and recent debates about safe spaces, rape culture and the complexities of “sexual freedom” in a post-9/11 world.

October 31, 10:00 -11:00 amAlessandra Expósito“Death Be Not Drab"
"I would like to share the concepts that inspired a number of different bodies of my work, and relate some ideas from other contemporary artists that I find fascinating. I am interested in the strange way animals -and the lowly chicken, in particular- are fraught with metaphor and meaning, and how we can better understand ourselves by looking at our perceptions of different animals and their status. My most recent paintings depict children with common childhood maladies, or oddities. The looming spectre of death haunts my work while a lifelong love affair with hypochondria lightens the proceedings."
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November 7, 10:00 -11:00 amSaisha Grayson “Wangechi Mutu: History, Alchemy and Afro-Feminist Futurism”
​In this talk, curator and art historian Saisha Grayson will explore critical themes and artistic strategies in the work of Wangechi Mutu, one of the renowned artists featured in Her Crowd. A Brooklyn-based artist born in Nairobi, Kenya, Mutu's multimedia practice encompasses collage, sculpture, installation, video and performance, and wrestles with the historic narratives and contemporary images that construct our global landscape, shaping how we see and treat each other and the planet we share. Her collaged paintings, drawings and videos position black female subjects as powerful agents in this terrain, while her sculpture installations illuminate the adaptive creativity of both human culture and the natural environment. Mining the past to conjure alternate images of the futures, we will consider her work is a lens through which to consider some of the most pressing issues of today.

Film Series: Contemporary Art

This film series explores Contemporary Art -- from the newest season (8) of the PBS series Art21. Each film explores contemporary art in a different city. Films are on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 am. Each film is 50 minutes long, and followed by 15 minutes of Q&A with a Bruce Museum staff member. Free with Museum Admission. No advance registration required.

Artist Margaret Lee, who founded the New York artist-run space 179 Canal in 2009 and is currently a partner in the gallery 47 Canal, will discuss her personal work and inspirations. The event begins with a wine and cheese reception from 6:00 - 6:30 pm. Register in advance at brucemuseum.eventbrite.com.